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Chemotherapy and radiotherapy
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- Chemotherapy is a treatment of cancer by using anti-cancer drugs which kill cancer cells or stops them from multiplying. Chemotherapy is increasingly being used for people with colorectal cancer. See leaflet called 'Chemotherapy with Cytotoxic Drugs' for details.
* Radiotherapy is a treatment which uses high energy beams of radiation which are focussed on cancerous tissue. This kills cancer cells, or stops cancer cells from multiplying. It is most commonly used for colorectal cancer when the tumour is in the rectum. See leaflet called 'Radiotherapy' for details.When chemotherapy or radiotherapy are used in addition to surgery it is known as 'adjuvant chemotherapy' or 'adjuvant radiotherapy'. For example, following surgery you may be given a course of chemotherapy or radiotherapy. This aims to kill any cancer cells which may have spread away from the primary tumour site. Sometimes, adjuvant chemotherapy or radiotherapy is given before surgery to shrink a tumour so that the operation to remove the tumour is easier for a surgeon to do and is more likely to be successful.
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